POKEMON HEARTGOLD AND SOULSILVER WALKTHROUGH

Route 41 Revisited

If you're a completionist who wants to battle every single Trainer in game, this section is for you; if not, just skip this paragraph. If you took the upper path to Cianwood earlier, there's still much unexplored territory on Route 41, including many additional trainers to fight for experience. If you Surf east of the Pokemon Center in Cianwood, you can circumnavigate the southwestern Whirl Island and encounter four more Swimmers, two of each gender, who use a mix of Water-type Pokemon that you haven't seen unless you've fished. When you find the male Swimmer with a Qwilfish, going north leads to a female Swimmer with two Horsea and the upper path; staying on the center path and going east leads to an additional Swimmer of each gender. After the female with two Goldeen and a Seaking, heading south only leads to the entrance of a Whirl Island, so go north to meet another male Swimmer with three Water-types; Route 40 and Olivine City are north of him.

Olivine City

When you arrive in Olivine City, head right for Lighthouse and, this time, take the elevator straight up to Jasmine and Amphy. Amphy won't take the medicine from you, so speak to Jasmine and she'll apply the Secretpotion herself. Thankfully, the medicine works and Amphy is brought back to full health; he'll show off his electricity and repower the Lighthouse. Jasmine appreciates your help and returns to her Gym; when you leave the Lighthouse, Baoba will call and then thank you in person at the Gym, as his Safari Zone can open now that Amphy has been healed, and another girl will thank you as well. There are no puzzles or underling Trainers in Olivine Gym, likely to balance out the ones who you fought in the Lighthouse earlier, so walk straight up to Jasmine to challenge her.

Like most of the Johto-based Gym Leaders, Jasmine has two filler Pokemon that do little more than supplement her main Pokemon, as both of her Magnemites have the same moveset of Thunder Wave, Thunderbolt, Supersonic and Sonicboom and are only somewhat threatening due to the presence of Thunderbolt, which is a strong Electric-type attack. You'll probably want to bring Full Heals to address the paralysis and confusion that Magnemite's attacks cause. Jasmine's main threat is her Steelix, which will often use Sandstorm when it enters the battlefield to cause passive damage to any of your Pokemon that aren't Rock-, Ground-, or Steel-type; then it will use Screech to soften up your Pokemon for its main damaging moves, Rock Throw and its powerful STAB attack Iron Tail.

Jasmine's Pokemon resist most types and are immune to Poison-type attacks; Steelix also has an immunity against Electric-type moves. However, Jasmine's Pokemon are all weak against Fire-, Fighting- or Ground-type moves; in fact, her Magnemites have a 4x weakness against the latter. Quilava, Magmar or Rock/Ground-types are great against the Magnemites but will have trouble with Steelix; conversely, Water-types, such as Croconaw or Slowpoke, can learn Surf and Rain Dance (via TM from Slowpoke Well's basement) are useless against Magnemite but combat Steelix with ease. Thus, Quagsire is a great Pokemon against Jasmine, as it is immune against Thunderbolt, resists all of Steelix's attacks including Sandstorm, and can learn Water- and Ground-type attacks. Bayleef/Meganium (or any Grass-type) also works well because they resist Thunderbolt and can use Leech Seed to wear down Steelix.

When Jasmine is defeated, she'll give you TM23 - Iron Tail, a strong yet inaccurate Steel-type attack, and the Mineralbadge, which raises the Defense of your Pokemon. With Jasmine defeated, you can officially visit the Johto Region's Safari Zone by traveling through the new cave to the west of Cianwood City; see the Optional Areas section for Safari Zone coverage. When you're done with the Safari Zone, or if you're skipping it, return to Ecruteak City and exit through the eastern outpost of the City.

Route 42 is a linear horizontal route that connects Ecruteak City and Mahogany Town. If you didn't pick it up earlier, TM65 - Shadow Claw will be sitting in plain sight on the ground. As you travel along Route 42, you'll see cave-like openings along the top of the road. These openings all lead to different sections of Mt. Mortar, which is a completely optional sidequest that is covered in the Optional Areas section. In the meantime, head east; after crossing a body of water, you'll spot Suicune hiding behind a Cut tree. When you remove the tree and walk into the enclosed area, Suicune will push you aside and run off, prompting Eusine to walk up and talk fanatically about Suicune yet again. He'll leave, allowing you to collect the Pink, Green and Yellow Apricorns that were behind the Cut tree. Then grab the Super Potion on the ground and cross the Route's second body of water.

After crossing this water, it's a straight walk east to Mahogany Town. Three Trainers with laughably underleveled Pokemon for this point in the game will also appear. The first is a Fisherman with a Qwilfish. He'll ask for your phone number and, if you exchange, he'll occasionally call for a rematch and reward you with a Water Stone if you win. The other two trainers, a Pokemaniac with Nidorina and Nidorino and a Hiker with three Ground-type Pokemon, are filler opponents. Also, in the nearby tall grass, HeartGold players will encounter a new Pokemon, the Fighting-type Mankey, whose family is faster than Machop's but also more fragile. Mareep's evolved form, Flaaffy, also appears and you can encounter Magikarp, Goldeen and Seaking while Surfing. Goldeen or Seaking make decent HM slaves due to their ability to learn Surf, Whirlpool and Waterfall. Now, continue to Mahogany Town.

Mahogany Town

Mahogany Town is rather small, as there are only four buildings in the town itself. One is the Pokemon Center, so heal there. In place of a Pokemart, Mahogany Town has a small item shop that sells rather useless items including regular Poke Balls, Potions and TinyMushrooms. Now, the game pretty much dictates your next destination because Mahogany's Gym is blocked off and a man, for no particular reason, is refusing to let you leave through the east. He'll offer you a Ragecandybar for $300 but, unlike in Gold and Silver, Ragecandybar is a key item in these games, as it was not programmed into the other games of Generation IV. It might seem pointless to do so, but go ahead and buy it because it can be exchanged for something else much later in the game. To progress, leave to the north.

Route 43 is a medium-length vertical route with two paths. Because Team Rocket has taken control of the outpost that grants access to the right path, you'll have to pay $1000 to pass. Don't bother doing this because the only advantage is that there are no battles on this side. As the Pokemon of both the Trainers and the wild grass rarely crack Level 20, you should stick to the left path for some easy experience points, but you can cut over to the right path after the first Pokemaniac. If you surf across the first body of water on the left path, you'll find a Black Apricorn tree behind a Cut bush. Otherwise, go north from either of Route 43's grass paths to go straight to Lake of Rage.

The wild Pokemon of Route 43 are rather familiar, including Pidgeotto, Noctowl and Mareep/Flaaffy. The Bug/Poison-type Venonat is a new face that has two great abilities and can learn some decent Special and annoyer moves. Exclusive to this route is Girafarig, a Psychic/Normal-type giraffe Pokemon that, while certainly usable in-game, has mediocre stats. There are also six Trainers here: a Camper with some Ground-type Pokemon and a Zubat, a Picnicker with a Clefairy, a Pokemaniac with a Nidorina and a Nidorino, a Pokemaniac with a Slowbro, a Pokemaniac with a Nidoking and a Fisherman with two Magikarp and a Gyarados. After the Pokemaniac with a Nidoking, you can head east and then north to find a side entrance to Lake of Rage that has a few items but is otherwise optional.

When you enter Lake of Rage for the first time, it will start raining on the overworld again, much like it was earlier on Route 33, and the Lake itself will appear flooded. Nobody in this area is interested in battling at the moment because their attention is focused on a red Gyarados thrashing out in the middle of the Lake. As one of the most memorable plot points of Generation II, this Gyarados apparently has evolved prematurely due to Team Rocket's generated evolution radio waves. As a result, it is considered a shiny Pokemon and is the only guaranteed shiny Pokemon encounter in any Pokemon game. This would be your cue to stock up on Pokeballs (you can fly back to Lake of Rage afterward), save your game and Surf out to it. Unsurprisingly, it will attack you when you talk to it.

Shiny GyaradosHGSS's red Gyarados is a much better prize than GSC's for three main reasons: the expansion of Gyarados' movepool since Generation II; the allowance for shiny Pokemon to have any combination of IVs since Generation III; and the Physical/Special move split added in Generation IV. A Water/Flying-type, Gyarados is Level 30 and comes with Twister, Dragon Rage, Bite and Leer as well as the ability Intimidate. Even if you don't care about the gimmick of shiny Pokemon, Gyarados is a worthy addition to a team, especially once you get the Waterfall HM and it learns Ice Fang and (by TM) Earthquake. If you faint the Red Gyarados, don't worry because it will return to this spot later in the game.

After catching or defeating the red Gyarados, you'll receive the Red Scale key item. This item is completely worthless and its only purpose is to be traded to Professor Elm's friend, Mr. Pokemon on Route 30, for an EXP. Share. Surf back to shore and you'll meet former Kanto Elite Four member Lance, who will explain that Team Rocket is trying to force all of the Magikarp in Lake of Rage to evolve into Gyarados with their evolution waves. He'll note that the Rockets have a secret base back in Mahogany Town and enlist your help in fighting the Rockets. He'll then Fly back to Mahogany; you may do the same, but the side entrance of Lake of Rage will be covered next.

Enter the side passage of Lake of Rage through Route 43. Unlike in Gold and Silver, the maze section of this area will be occasionally flooded, but you can still Surf through. When you reach the maze, a Red Flute will be just off to the left. Navigate along the perimeter of the maze until you reach a hidden house. Along the way, when the route is not flooded, you might encounter another Weekday Sibling, Wesley of Wednesday, and receive a Black Belt, which boosts Fighting-type moves by 20%. Just right of the house, TM43 - Secret Power, which has different effects on different battle terrains, is sitting on the ground. Enter the secret house and talk to the owner inside to receive TM10 - Hidden Power, which has a varying type and power based on your Pokemon's IVs. If the route is not flooded, use can your Itemfinder to locate more two hidden items in the maze: a Full Restore and a Rare Candy. Otherwise, return to Mahogany Town.

Rocket Basement Hideout

Heal at the Pokemon Center and then enter the shady shop in Mahogany Town that sells useless items. Lance will expose the shopkeeper as an agent of Team Rocket and then miraculously locate the trap door in the floor that leads to a basement hideout. Lance will explain this as you progress, but this is a secret base of operations for Team Rocket that serves as the source of the evolution radio waves that caused the red Gyarados' evolution. And, you guessed it, it's up to you and Lance to run Team Rocket out of Mahogany Town to prevent more Magikarp from evolving prematurely and rampaging in Lake of Rage.

The first floor of the basement is straightforward but booby-trapped. Each time you cross the line of sight of a Persian statue, it will trigger an alarm that attracts the same two Rocket Grunts over and over. One has a Zubat and a Drowzee while the other has a Zubat, a Grimer and a Rattata. These Grunts won't stop attacking until you turn off the computer located south of the entrance; go south between the first two statues and through the simplistic maze to find the computer, which will be guarded by a Rocket Scientist with three Magnemite. Grab the Guard Spec. on the ground next to the terminal.

Backtrack through the maze and go past the Persian statue for a free Hyper Potion. Hug the perimeter of the room to find a Nugget on the floor to the south. After the Nugget is a Warp Point near another statue. If you need to heal, use the Warp Point to go back to the entrance quickly. Just north of the Warp Point is a small grid setup to resemble a minefield, as certain tiles will trigger battles with wild Selfdestructing Geodude, Voltorb or Koffing (five of each). You can ignore, catch or knock out these Pokemon for easy EXP. Above this minefield is an inconsequential female Rocket Grunt who can be taken out as well. Then head down the stairs near the Warp Point.

On the next floor, you'll meet Lance and he'll graciously heal your Pokemon. This floor is rather straightforward, with two Rocket Grunts (a male with two Venonat and another with a Golbat) on the path that leads to the next set of stairs. When you reach the third subfloor, Lance will explain that you need to learn two passwords to gain access to a Rocket Executive in charge of this scheme. Conveniently, two Rockets on this floor know the passwords. A Full Heal is just above the entrance and TM49 - Snatch, which can steal an opponent's stat boosts, is northwest of the small cubicle with a Scientist with two Koffing and a female Rocket Grunt with an Ekans and a Gloom; this Grunt has one of the passwords, so defeat her for it. West of the cubicle is another room with a Male Rocket Grunt with a Raticate and Rocket Scientist with a Ditto. The Grunt has the other password, so defeat him. Beyond these Rockets are two items - a Protein and an X Special. Go up the stairs above where you started.

Now back up on the second floor of the basement, take a detour to the south and investigate the terminal for a hidden X. Sp. Def. Head left across the room and defeat the Rocket Grunt who is guarding the next set of stairs that lead down; he has two Rattata and a Zubat. This is the last Rocket Grunt of the base; all that's left are the Rocket Executives, so go downstairs. Head south and approach the door of the room that has a man in trenchcoat; your Rival will make an appearance. Instead of battling you, Rival will explain that Lance told him that he doesn't teach Pokemon properly and wonder aloud what he meant. He'll reaffirm his dislike for Team Rocket, push you aside and then leave. Grab the Ultra Ball on the floor and open the door nearby. When you enter, a new Rocket Executive, Petrel, will battle you.

A new character to HGSS, Petrel is merely a replacement for the battle that took place against the generic male Rocket Executive at this point in GSC. He has three Pokemon altogether: a Level 22 Zubat, a Level 22 Koffing and a Level 24 Raticate. As usual, these Pokemon are underpowered for this point in the game. Psychic- or Electric-type attacks take out Zubat, Psychic-type attacks down Koffing and Fighting-type attacks handle Raticate, but just about anything will KO this trio.

Petrel will run off after his defeat, and the Murkrow in this room will suddenly urge you to find him and run off. Before doing this, take the lower set of stairs and you'll find TM46 - Thief, which allows your Pokemon to steal its opponent's held item. Return to the previous area and take the northern set of stairs to find Murkrow; follow him straight to the generator, which he'll open for you. Enter the area with the generator and two Rockets will confront you: a male Grunt and Rocket Executive Ariana, the only female Rocket Executive. Lance will enter at this point and the game's first tag match will follow: you and Lance vs. Ariana and the Rocket Grunt.

Ariana has three Pokemon: a Level 25 Arbok, a Level 25 Gloom and a Level 27 Murkrow. Her partner has a Level 18 Drowzee and a Level 20 Grimer. The bottom line is that this roster would be underleveled even if you had to fight these two yourself, but your tag partner has a Level 40 Dragonite with Fly and Thunder of his own, so you shouldn't have any trouble at all with this battle. Smack Ariana and Grunt's Pokemon around with super-effective or neutral attacks and Lance's Dragonite can handle the rest. Watch out for Ariana's Arbok's Crunch, though.

Ariana and her Grunt were the last Rocket members in the Hideout. Now, to finish the job, the Electrodes that are powering the generator need to be stopped, with you and Lance taking on three apiece. Each Electrode is Level 23 and knows Spark, Rollout, Light Screen and Screech; you can either catch or defeat them. Because this is the only place for quite some time to catch Electrode, one of the fastest paralyzers in the game, you may or may not want to grab one. After removing all three, your mission in the Rocket Hideout is complete. Lance will thank you with HM05 - Whirlpool, which he just found. Whirlpool is a weak, inaccurate Water-type move that traps opponents for 2-5 turns, so it's not a great reward, although it is needed to complete the game. Leave the hideout.

Team Rocket has abandoned Mahogany Town, leaving the shop deserted and opening up the Gym, although the man who sold you the Ragecandybar will still refuse to let you enter Route 44. Go back to the Rocket Tollbooth on Route 43 and the guard inside will apologize for the Rocket takeover and give you TM36 - Sludge Bomb, one of the best Special-based Poison attacks. Pick up the Max Ether outside of the gate. You can also go back to Lake of Rage, which might not be flooded, to collect those hidden items accessible from the side entrance. The main area also now has some easy Trainers whom you can battle for experience along the lake's coast: a Fisherman with a Gyarados; another poor fool with four Magikarp; and a female Ace Trainer with a Mareep and a Ninetales. You can find a set of Choice Specs on the northern shore of the lake. You can also fish for Magikarp in the Lake, if you catch a big enough Magikarp, the Fishing Guru in the nearby house will reward you with an Elixir. When you're ready, head back to the Gym to battle for your seventh Johto badge.

Mahogany Town Gym

Mahogany Gym has undergone some remodeling in HGSS, as the Gym is now segmented into three different rooms. However, being an Ice-type gym, the ice slide courses are still present. The first room has no trainers and simply introduces you to the theme of the Gym, which is slippery ice and movable ice blocks. It has a simplistic puzzle that you should be able to figure out. Go into the second room, which as two trainers: a Snowboarder with two Swinub and a Skier with a Jynx. Go behind the Skier and slip into the ice block on the left; it will be pushed into the ice block on the right, at which point you can slip over to the two blocks of ice and then slip up to the next room.

The third room of the Gym has three subordinate trainers as well as the Gym Leader himself, Pryce. The subordinate trainers are a Snowboarder with two Seel and a Dewgong; another Snowboarder with a Shellder, a Seel and a Cloyster; and a Skier with a Dewgong. Get behind the Snowboarder with Seel and Dewgong and slide into the block of ice to the right. You'll have to slide up and fight the Skier; after that, slidge to the right of her and then slide down. You should be at the bottom-right corner of the ice puzzle now. From here, slide in these directions in this order: left, up, right, up, right and up, at which point you'll fight the second Snowboarder. Slide to the left of him, into the two movable blocks of ice that were joined together, and then go up to reach Pryce.

Although his team has the game's highest levels yet, Pryce is still a pretty underwhelming seventh Gym leader considering his Pokemon are in the lower 30's. He has three altogether: Seel, an unevolved Water-type who is nothing but filler; Seel's evolved form and the best Pokemon ever, Dewgong, who is a decently bulky Water/Ice-type; and Pryce's "main" Pokemon, Piloswine, who is a Physical-oriented Ice/Ground-type holding a Sitrus Berry. Seel and Piloswine use Hail, which last for five turns and benefits Pryce in several ways: it chips health from any non-Ice-type; it makes Piloswine's strongest attack, Blizzard, have 100% accuracy; and it boosts Piloswine's evasion due to its Snow Cloak ability. Seel and Dewgong can use Rest to recover HP and remove inflicted status conditions; they can also attack with Snore (Seel) and Sleep Talk (Dewgong) while asleep.

Seel is a non-threat and, though it knows Icy Wind, Ampharos or any Grass-type Pokemon, including Bayleef/Meganium, can brush him aside. Dewgong's bulk, including the presence of Rest and Sleep Talk, makes him more challenging. Ampharos or Electrode are the best choices because Grass-types won't like taking STAB Aurora Beams and Ice Shards; Quilava/Typhlosion and Magmar also work because Dewgong lacks a Water-type attack. Piloswine is tricky, but you can undercut Pryce's use of Hail by using a weather-altering move of your own. such as Rain Dance. Your Water-type, including Croconaw/Feraligatr, can use STAB moves to nail Piloswine's Ground-type, while Fire- and Grass-type can work but are vulnerable to Mud Bomb and Ice Fang/Blizzard, respectively. This battle shouldn't be too hard because Ice is an awful defensive type, with four weaknesses (Fire, Rock, Fighting, Steel) and one resistance to itself.

When you defeat Pryce, you'll earn TM07 - Hail, which causes Hail on the field for five turns, and the Glacierbadge, which increases the Special stats of your Pokemon and allows the use Whirlpool outside of battle.

As soon as you step out of Mahogany Gym, Professor Elm will call and notify you that messages about Team Rocket have taken over the radio broadcasts on your Pokegear. If you open your Radio, you'll see that he's right. As usual, it's your job to walk or Fly over to Goldenrod City and investigate.